Prologue:
+ Effective at introducing the story and character to the audience
- We should've added more harmonies
- During the messy section after we disperse, we should be messy, but not unorderly. Ollie, Alice and I looked very out of place so we need something to do such as round by through or some other form of interaction
No Place Like London:
-boat didn’t look as impressive as it has done in rehearsal
+ our representation of getting off the boat was good and intuitive
? we could've added a flashback to enhance storytelling techniques while rob sings about the barber and his wife
? perhaps we could do this by having a sheet up instead of the curtains and have a silhouette dance/scene to represent the flashback
- set transition needed to be more fluid which could've been done by having more people involved and using round by through
Worst Pies In London:
+ very good movement and was sung brilliantly
- could’ve included more cast members to make our piece more original
? for example having customers come in and try, and hate, her pies; the opposite to what "God That's Good" would've been if we kept it in
Poor Thing:
? add another flashback to tell the story more clearly
My Friends:
? Todd could've interacted with Ollie, James and I as we were representing the knives
- the movement was out of time so we should've worked on this section more
? we could've built on this physical theatre section and made it more complex
Greenfinch And Linnet Bird:
- we should've used the longer version of this song to fully accentuate character and make the audience familiar with her.
? perhaps we should've added a prop into this number as it would give Alice something to interact with
Johanna:
- the song was lacking in volume at different points
? perhaps explore more original ideas; the way we performed this song/scene is very typical and identical to the script so we should've shaken it up a bit.
Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir:
+ James’ audience interaction was superb
- I feel that relevant signage would be very helpful to show the audience that we are Pirelli's caravan
? actors like Ollie M and I, could've been planted in the audience to create ambience and be interacted with by James
? with bigger cast we wouldn’t need to rely on audience interaction and could have a chorus crowd
- our props weren't all the same (the bottles were all different shapes, sizes and materials) so having all the same would keep continuity.
The Contest:
+ pirelli’s entrance was grand and provided a great deal of comic relief to a very dark musical!
- although it was great as it was, Pirelli's song would've been better with a backing track or live musician
? Pirelli and Toby could've interacted with each other more as they only really interact at the beginning and end of Pirelli's scene.
Wait:
- with more time behind us we could’ve done something more with the entire song whether that be a movement scene, silhouettes or character interaction
+ Pirelli's death was very effective and sets up the story well with his first kill
? round by through between James and Lorna could've been used to
Ladies And Their Sensitivities:
- with more time for rehearsals, we could’ve worked on singing the song
+ however the way it was performed was still very effective and original
- very static: with a bigger stage or more time for set changes we would’ve used more space to walk.
Pretty Women:
? bigger budget idea: move the entire stage into the parlour
- there wasn't much tension built up during the song according to audience members
The Epiphany:
? perhaps ensemble movement could've been more complex
? with a larger cast, this would work much better
? having costumes, if this was a full scale production, would’ve represented the townspeople better.
A Little Priest:
? a larger cast could have had more townspeople involved (such as the royal marine and politician)
? perhaps an ensemble dance or movement piece would've worked really well for this song, to show the potential success of the pie shop
Johanna (Reprise):
+ the noises were effective...
- but should’ve been in time
? during the beggar woman sections, we should've been more organised and, for example, do our beats twice as fast
Anthony and Beadle:
+ very short scene which keeps the audience up to date with Anthony
? perhaps could've used spare actors like James or Ollie M to chase after Anthony as he flees.
By The Sea:
- this scene was very irrelevant without the dialogue prior to the scene which we cut in rehearsal. This is something we only realised
- our swing didn’t work at the end verse
Not While I'm Around :
+ sang very well
- well-staged, however not very original
- Mrs Lovett didn't show much maternity so being more motherly would make the scene better
Beadle's Death:
? more physical contact between the pair
+ staging was great
- make Beadle's death more obvious with brighter/coloured lighting
Searching for Toby and Anthony & Johanna:
? Lovett and Todd could’ve explored the aisle more by walking through the audience and looking for Toby, eventually going under the stage
+ the short bit between Anthony and Johanna was good and caught the audience up with the pair
Beggar Woman's Death:
+ although it was ironic that the most important death of all wasn't very dramatic...
- it could’ve and should’ve been so much more
? we could've stuck with our original idea of using red cloth to have blood pouring out of her throat
Pretty Women Reprise:
+ showed the panic in Judge as he comes close to losing Johanna but recovers her
- Judge's death should've been a lot bigger but this was difficult due to lack of space
? with a bigger budget, we could've had a moving parlour or purely have a bigger performance space
Finale:
+ very emotive
- bigger dance section was needed for such a significant part of the story
+ the way we did Mrs Lovett's death was very different to the typical burning in the oven and I felt this original approach served us well
+ Todd’s death was extremely effective as he hands the razor to Toby, signifying he has nothing left in this world and that he shall pay for the sins he committed
General:
In general, I feel our performance was extremely impressive for a workshop performance. If we were to turn this into a proper full scale production, I would make the following major changes:
- We would have full costumes to further represent our characters and make the performance more atmospheric.
- With a dynamically bigger budget, we could've had an extravagant set like a proper barber chair, pie shop furniture and backdrops etc to represent different places. With a big enough budget, we'd want to perform in a bigger space like a theatre.
- Ideally, we'd like to use headset mics to carry our voices further into the audience and be heard over the backing tracks.
- We'd also prefer live musician(s) to enhance the atmosphere of the live performance.
My individual performance:
I feel my portrayal of Judge Turpin was very effective at creating an image of the tormented soul on stage. However, I didn't change the way I played him throughout due to my thought process behind the development of the character. I wanted the character to have his own aura about him when onstage and perhaps make the audience detached from him due to the lack of variation in my emotion. I then went on to later reveal to the audience how soft the Judge can be after learning Johanna is safe and wanting to spend the rest of his life with her, granting her forgiveness. Although this is clearly an irrational way to think - stealing Todd's own daughter from him for self gratification - it has implications about the characters possible mental health issues. These implications are also relevant in the scene where Turpin strips naked and whips himself whilst thinking of his innoncent ward; we were unable to keep this scene in however as we deemed it extremely unneccessary to perform in a school. Support with mental health issues was non-existent in the time of Sweeney Todd so that would've been one fo the very few coping mechanisms Judge Turpin would utilise. Overall, I feel my portrayal of Judge Turpin was very good at portraying not only his clearly evil and sadistic intentions but showed the weaknesses in what he thought was good.
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